Optimal Water Allocation of Surface and Ground Water Resources Under Climate Change with WEAP and IWOA Modeling

Water Resources Management - The water evaluation and planning (WEAP) approach and the invasive weed optimization algorithm (IWOA) are herein employed to determine the optimal operating policies in...     

A Fluorometric Enzymatic Assay for Quantification of Steryl Glucosides in Biodiesel

Steryl glucosides (SG) are common contaminants in biodiesel that form precipitates, which form and cause problems due to fouling during transport and storage. Therefore, their quantification is necessary to assess the quality of this fuel. The methods currently available for SG analysis require expensive instrumentation, need a previous concentration step by solid‐phase extraction (SPE) or are of limited use for the quantitative assessment. We developed an enzymatic method for SG quantification in biodiesel samples based on the hydrolysis of the glucoside catalyzed by a broadly specific beta glucosidase and the subsequent determination of the glucose released by the reaction. The method is non‐expensive, sensitive and was adapted to 96‐well format fluorescence plate reader, making it useful for the parallel assay of multiple samples. The enzymatic assay presented here represent a valuable tool for both quality control and the development of improved biodiesel production and purification procedures.     

Design and synthesis of foam glasses from recycled materials

Recycling has emerged as an environmental key point due to the diminishing of natural resources and the generation of ever-increasing amounts of industrial solid wastes. Glass wastes are among the materials that attract great interest in the recycling concept. This work presents the results of foams production from four series of compositions. The first series comprises powders of a sodium-calcium-silicate sheet glass cullet as the main component, an alkali-earth aluminosilicate glass as an additive, and a reagent grade silicon carbide (SiC) powder as gassing agent. In the second series, the glass cullet was used in combination with fly ashes (FLA) as main components, while SiC waste from abrasive paper served as foaming agent. In the third and fourth series, carbonates (calcite and dolomite) were used for foaming powder mixtures composed of sheet glass cullet and FLA, and powdered cathode ray tube panel glasses, respectively. All the processing parameters, including the main components, the nature and content of foaming agents are shown to play a crucial role on the foaming ability and final properties of the glass foams.     

Comparison of the GFFF and LALLS Methods for the Measurement of Starch Granule Size Distribution in Spring Barley Caryopses

A newly developed method GFFF (Gravitational Field‐Flow Fractionation) and the well known method LALLS (Low Angle Laser Light Scattering) were used to assess starch granule size distribution of ten varieties of spring barley. As a distribution criterion, the ratio of starch granule content larger than 8 μm (type A) and smaller than 8 μm (type B) was chosen. Both methods divided the observed set in a similar way. Varieties Akcent, Forum and Atribut formed a variety set with the highest ratio of large and small starch granules. Varieties Scarlet and Kompakt had intermediate ratios. The remaining five varieties Amulet, Novum, Olbram, Tolar and Krona had the lowest ratios of large and small starch granules. Statistical analysis showed that there was a highly significant correlation between the GFFF and LALLS methods.     

Long-term transients in a reactor under forced concentration cycling

In the approach to a cycle-invariant state in the forced feed concentration cycling of the CO oxidation over a NiO catalyst, a very long transient has been observed lasting 80 ks or more. This transient appears to be associated only with CO pretreatment of the catalyst and is not a general phenomenon. The slow convergence to the cycle-invariant state reported in certain modelling calculations in the literature appears to have a different cause.     

Structural determination of N-2''-hydroxyoctadecenoyl-1-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-9-methyl-4, 8-sphingadienine from species of Aspergillus

The barrier function, surface biochemistry, and morphology of confluent monolayers of endothelial cells isolated from different segments of the bovine lung vasculature [microvessels (BLMVEC), vein (BPVEC) and artery (BPAEC)] were grown in culture and compared. A number of common cell surface proteins were identified along with two proteins of 46 and 48 kDa found exclusively on BPVEC. Lectin affinity chromatography revealed multiple glycosylation differences. The lectins, Arachis hypogaea (AHA) and Lycopersicum esculentum (LEA) agglutinins, interacted with several glycoproteins of BLMVEC but not of BPAEC. Bandeiraea simplicifolia (BS-1) and Caragana arborescens (CAA) agglutinins recognized several glycoproteins of BPVEC and BPAEC but not BLMVEC. Permeabilities were much lower for BLMVEC than BPAEC or BPVEC monolayers, with a range of about 16-fold less for sucrose to 2-fold less for albumin. Electron microscopy revealed that BLMVEC have a greater surface density of plasmalemmal vesicles (approximately 4-fold) and more extensively developed intercellular junctions with more focal membrane adhesion sites per junction (approximately 9-fold) than the other cells. We conclude that: i) BLMVEC monolayers form a much more restrictive barrier to molecular transport as a result of the tighter junctional formation; and ii) endothelial surface glycoproteins may be differentially glycosylated depending on their segmental location within the vasculature.